Why would someone who has been set free ever choose to return to bondage?

In Session 4 of The Book of Galatians: The War Within, Pastor Adam Aziz walks through Galatians 4 and unpacks Paul’s passionate warning to believers who were being tempted to return to the very system Christ had already delivered them from.

Paul reminds the Galatians that they are no longer slaves, but sons and daughters. Through Christ, they have been adopted into the family of God, given the Spirit, and made heirs according to His promise. Yet somehow, they were beginning to turn back to empty religious systems, rules, and patterns that could never give them life.

In this session, we explore:

• The difference between living as a slave and living as a son

• What it means to receive the Spirit of adoption

• Why Paul says, “Abba, Father”

• The danger of returning to old systems after experiencing freedom

• How religious performance can become another form of bondage

• Why knowing God is greater than simply knowing about God

• Paul’s concern that the Galatians were turning back to “weak and beggarly elements”

• The contrast between promise and bondage

• What Hagar and Sarah reveal about law, grace, slavery, and freedom

• Why believers must refuse to return to what Christ has already delivered them from

The tragedy of Galatians 4 is not that the Galatians had never experienced freedom. It is that they had experienced freedom and were considering going back.

You are no longer a slave. You are a son. And once Christ has brought you into freedom, there is nothing worth going back to.

Study notes and additional resources are available at www.adamandolivia.com/deeper.

If we are saved by faith, then why did God give the law?

In Session 3 of The Book of Galatians: The War Within, Pastor Adam Aziz walks through Galatians 3 and unpacks Paul’s powerful explanation of the relationship between faith, the law, the promise, and the finished work of Jesus Christ.

Paul challenges the Galatians for beginning by faith but then trying to continue through human effort. He points back to Abraham to show that righteousness has always come through faith, not religious performance.

In this session, we explore: Why Paul confronts the Galatians so strongly. The difference between faith and works of the law. Why Abraham is central to Paul’s argument. The curse of trying to be justified by the law. How Christ redeemed us from the curse. The promise God gave before the law was introduced. Why the law was given in the first place. How the law functions as a guardian leading us to Christ. What it means to become sons and daughters of God through faith Our new identity and unity in Christ.

The law was never intended to save us. It reveals our need for a Savior and points us toward Jesus.

The Christian life begins by faith, continues by faith, and rests completely in what Christ has accomplished.

Study notes and additional resources are available at www.adamandolivia.com/deeper.

What does it really mean to be crucified with Christ?

In Session 2 of The Book of Galatians: The War Within, Pastor Adam Aziz walks through Galatians 2:15–21 and unpacks one of the most powerful passages in the New Testament.

Paul makes it clear that we are not made right with God by keeping the law, religious performance, or trying harder. We are justified by faith in Jesus Christ.

In this session, we explore:

• What it means to be justified by faith
• Why the law can reveal sin but cannot save us
• The difference between religion and grace
• What Paul means when he says, “I have been crucified with Christ”
• How the old life dies and Christ becomes the source of our new life
• What it means to live by faith in the Son of God
• Why returning to performance undermines the grace of God

Galatians 2:20 is more than a verse to quote. It is a description of the Christian life:

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”

The Gospel does not simply make the old you better. In Christ, the old life is crucified, and a new life begins.

Study notes and additional resources are available at www.adamandolivia.com/deeper.

DEEPER Bible Study | Session 1: No Other Gospel Galatians 1:1–2:14

What happens when the Gospel of grace gets mixed with religion, human approval, and man-made requirements?

In Session 1 of our journey through The Book of Galatians: The War Within, Pastor Adam Aziz walks through Galatians 1:1–2:14 and unpacks Paul’s urgent warning to the early church: there is no other Gospel.

We’ll explore why Paul wrote Galatians, the controversy threatening the church, his dramatic testimony of transformation, and his confrontation with Peter when the truth of the Gospel was at stake.

In this session, we discuss:

• The historical and cultural background of Galatians
• Why Paul opens the letter with such urgency
• Grace versus religious performance
• The danger of adding anything to the Gospel
• Paul’s transformation from persecutor to apostle
• The pressure to seek the approval of people
• Why Paul publicly confronted Peter
• What it means to live consistently with the truth of the Gospel

The message of Galatians is just as important today: Jesus is enough. Grace is enough. And we must guard the Gospel from anything that attempts to distort it.

Study notes and additional resources are available at www.adamandolivia.com/deeper.

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What if the reason you aren't seeing breakthrough isn't God's ability… it's your willingness to actually pray?

In James 5:13-20, James closes his letter not with a benediction — but with a call to mission. He confronts how we pray, who we confess to, and what we do when someone we love wanders away from the truth. And he makes one thing painfully clear: REAL FAITH PRAYS. REAL FAITH WORKS. REAL FAITH RESTORES.

In this final session of the Deeper Bible Study series on the book of James, Pastor Adam Aziz walks verse by verse through James 5:13-20 and asks the questions most of us are quietly avoiding:

• Why do we treat prayer as the LAST resort when James says it should be the FIRST response?
• What does it actually mean to be "anointed with oil" — and why isn't the oil what heals?
• What's the difference between the prayer of FAITH and praying with formulas, demands, or wishful thinking?
• Why does James say to confess our sins to EACH OTHER — and why have we ignored that command for so long?
• If Elijah was "as human as we are"… why aren't we seeing his kind of breakthroughs?
• Who in your life right now is wandering — and what is God asking you to do about it?

This isn't a soft sermon about prayer. This is a wake-up call about what it actually looks like to live a praying, confessing, restoring kind of faith. Whether you're sitting in pain or sitting in pleasure, fighting in secret or walking next to someone who doesn't know how to ask for help — this final word from James is for you.

LEARN MORE: www.adamandolivia.com/deeper

What if your bank account, your closet, and the way you treat the people under you are all quietly testifying about where your trust REALLY is? In James 5:1-12, James lays two paths side by side. One group is hoarding wealth, exploiting workers, and living for pleasure while ignoring God. The other is suffering, waiting, and trusting God when nothing seems to be moving. And James has a word for both.

In this teaching from the Deeper Bible Study series, Pastor Adam Aziz walks verse by verse through James 5:1-12 and asks the questions most of us don't want to face... This is bold, honest, and deeply convicting teaching. Whether you're waiting on a breakthrough, wrestling with what you have, or just need a reminder that God hears every cry that nobody else does… this one is for you.

"The Judge is standing at the door." — James 5:9 (NLT)

Let's live like we believe it.

Learn more: www.adamandolivia.com/deeper

Grace, Humility, & Getting Along | James 4

In James 4, we're confronted with a hard but freeing truth: the wars we fight on the outside almost always start on the inside. Pastor Adam Aziz walks us through one of the most piercing chapters in the New Testament — exposing the source of our conflicts, the danger of friendship with the world, and the path to real spiritual restoration through humility. You'll learn what it means to draw near to God, resist the enemy, step down from the judge's seat, and stop boasting about a tomorrow that was never promised. This message is both a wake-up call and a reminder of one beautiful truth: God gives MORE grace.

The tongue is small, but it carries enormous power. In this episode, we walk through James 3:1-12 and deal with the weight of our words. James shows us that the tongue is powerful, dangerous, and revealing. It can direct lives, destroy relationships, and expose what is really happening in the heart. This is more than a lesson about “watching your mouth.” It is a call to spiritual maturity, heart transformation, and surrender to the Holy Spirit. If you’ve ever struggled with what you say, how you say it, or what your words reveal about you, this episode will challenge you in a real way.